Andronikou clueless over mystery fee

PORTSMOUTH administrator Andrew Andronikou says he does not understand how the crisis club owe £1m to Tottenham for goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.

Pompey’s accounts, published yesterday, list the sum as a sell-on fee owed to Spurs, despite the fact that Begovic has at no stage been a Tottenham player.

It is understood that Spurs originally agreed a combined fee for the signing of defender Younes Kaboul and Begovic during the January transfer window. Kaboul completed his move to White Hart Lane but Begovic eventually chose to join Stoke instead for a fee of £3.25m.

A spokesperson for Tottenham told City A.M. the £1m fee in question was “not strictly a sell-on” and was because they had originally negotiated a combined fee. The amount remains outstanding.

Andronikou, however, said yesterday the fee “needs an explanation”, adding that he plans to investigate the circumstances surrounding it.

“I don’t understand it, and I would say it does need understanding,” said Andronikou, of UHY Hacker Young.

“I have forensic abilities to find out exactly what this is all about, and I plan to utilise them. I need to resolve how this came about and why it came about. At the moment, I would only say it is one of the nuances thrown up by all the debts, but this is one in need of an explanation.

“For now I am giving everyone the benefit of the doubt until I receive a full explanation. Put it this way, it sure it sticks out.”

The £1m Begovic fee represents just a fraction of the Premier League club’s total debt of £119m. The figure is far higher than previous estimates, which had put the debt at around £90m.

The bottom-of-the-table club are already condemned to relegation, but, despite their financial woes, have reached next month’s FA Cup final.